Ambitious plans to attract biggest artists to city

Gloucester Guildhall has capacity for up to 400 people

Ambitious plans to attract the "most exciting artists" in the UK to Gloucester have been announced.

Gloucester City Council plans to invest in the city's Guildhall to make the venue the “home of live music and dance in the city centre”.

Councillors have approved a business plan for the Eastgate Street site which will run until 2029 and say they also want to support Gloucestershire's emerging artists.

Culture and leisure cabinet member Caroline Courtney called the plan "ambitious but achievable".

Support local talent

Gloucester Guildhall has been awarded £250k in funding from Arts Council England each year for the next three years, with more than half of it already paid to the council, the BBC understands.

Councillor Courtney said the plan is to invest in high-quality programming and marketing to ensure good footfall, engagement and spending, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“The culture team see a need for a business plan for the Guildhall to enable us to plan more strategically going forward over a longer period of time to help us achieve our vision," Ms Courtney added.

“We want to host and support emerging local talent. Promote the most exciting national artists and enable participation in artistic activity in order to grow a creative and active community in the heart of Gloucester.”

'Important cultural asset'

The council hopes the plan will also reduce its spending on the Guildhall and raise more income through event hire, ticket sales and the cafe and bar.

Council leader, Jeremy Hilton, said it was an impressive business plan.

“The Guildhall is a really important cultural asset for the city and we intend to make it a much better place.”